MS 26

A person’s a person, no matter how small
Like the miniscule blob of a blastocyst ball
Or an egg, when a sperm cell has happened to call
A person’s a person, no matter how small.

From Corinth to Gulfport, they’ll take to the polls
For a state-wide initiative with wide-reaching goals:
To say cells are people, with rights and with souls,
And the state, not the woman, is at the controls

The state, not the woman, can say what is best
For the baby with which the poor mother is blessed
And the choice of the mother need not be addressed
The state, not the woman, can say what is best

A person’s a person, the state will assume,
And of course this applies to a babe in the womb
(The mom’s not a person; she’s just baby’s room,
And a source of nutrition the kid will consume)

A person’s a person, as well you’re aware
And a babe needs protection—it only seems fair
Till she’s out of her mother, and breathing the air,
And the state is no longer pretending to care.

Related post: But It Was Supposed To Be A Parody!

But It Was Supposed To Be A Parody!

In the New York Times today, an article on a Mississippi constitutional amendment on the ballot, which would define personhood as beginning at conception.

The amendment in Mississippi would ban virtually all abortions, including those resulting from rape or incest. It would bar some birth control methods, including IUDs and “morning-after pills” that prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. It would also outlaw the destruction of embryos created in laboratories.

It is clear that the impetus behind the issue is religious, not simply because it flies in the face of science (the majority of fertilized eggs don’t make it to birth, so “personhood” is certainly not guaranteed by biology), but because we can hear it in the words of the supporters:

“I view it as transformative,” said Brad Prewitt, a lawyer and executive director of the Yes on 26 campaign, which is named for the Mississippi proposition. “Personhood is bigger than just shutting abortion clinics; it’s an opportunity for people to say that we’re made in the image of God.”

This being the NYTimes, the comments are more coherent than on most sites (I have yet to see the equivalent report on Fox. Can’t wait.). Many bring up, as the logical consequence of this proposed amendment, a scenario very like one I wrote about a while ago. I did already repost it here, but that was before FtB really got going, so I am reposting it after the jump: [Read more…]

Fetal Testimony

Republican Congressmen sat in committee
And called, as their witness, young Tommy.
His presence was purely an act to draw pity;
The lad was still stuck in his mommy.

Their witness, unable to swear or affirm,
And unable to raise his right hand,
Looking less like a baby and more like a worm,
Reluctantly took to the stand.

“I’m glad you had time in your schedule to meet us”
The first representative smiled,
“Your perspective is needed; because you’re a fetus
We value you more than a child.”

The congressmen heard him, so loud and so clear,
Though Tommy, of course, had no voice;
(That’s the reason young Tommy was called to be here–
His mother, of course, had no choice.)

Tommy’s Mommy was there as a baby container–
What’s important is, Tommy was there–
If she’d spoken up, they’d have had to restrain ‘er
Cos Mom’s voice? We really don’t care.

You can’t make this stuff up. All over the news, a committee of the Ohio house of representatives was to hear “testimony” from a fetus. A real one, not a doll like New Hampshire’s Bob Smith used to bring to the US House. It appears, though, that the witness was not cooperative.